Ace Combat: Legacy
by bleedingshadows94
Summary: Five pilots must be pulled out of retirement to face a new threat on a global scale that could wipe out everything they have ever known.


Ryan Elric lay in his bed with his eyes closed, listening to the distant sound of a train's horn as it thundered along the tracks. He held his breath and counted the seconds between each blow of the horn, finally breathing out when it had stopped. There wasn't much to do on nights like this; his wife was away, at her mother's house, grieving the loss of her grandfather, and the crickets outside were almost silent in the warm summer night.

He heard a door opening somewhere in the house and the sound of another door closing, and knew it was his daughter, getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. He smiled, never once opening his eyes as he listened for the toilet to flush and the rush of the water from the faucet as she washed her hands, before opening the door and returning to her room. Ryan found it nearly impossible to imagine that she was 7 now. Her age was a grim reminder of his past, yet a hopeful message for the future. He took a deep breath and felt himself finally settling in to sleep.

The next morning, Ryan found himself juggling multiple tasks, something that he was still trying to get used to, in his civilian life. In the military, performing more than one task seemed so easy, so mundane, but now that he had a family, he felt a little stressed. It didn't help that his wife was out, since she normally assisted in the morning. He wasn't mad, but it was still an inconvenience. He glanced over at the clock on the wall, and realized he only had about 15 minutes to get his daughter out the door to the bus.

"…riots have been increasing in the capitol as tensions rise…" the TV reporter drawled.

RIIIIING.

Dammit, now what is it?

RIIIIING.

Ryan rushed over to the phone and picked it up, pressing the talk button.

"Hello?" he answered, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he placed the bowl of cereal in front of his daughter. "Oh, hello Mrs. Davenport, how are you?"

Ryan put the box of store brand cereal back in the pantry as he listened to the older woman on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, I'm fine. What's up? … This weekend? Um, not much, I don't think, we were probably just going to stay in. Why do you ask? … Oh, a barbecue. That's not a bad idea, actually. But I'd have to ask Kei about it. She's not here right now, so I'll have to run it by her. Is it okay if I give you a call back later today? … Alright, thanks a bunch. Bye."

As he pushed the end button, Ryan found himself nearly tripping over his own feet, checking up at the clock. 8 minutes until he had to get his daughter out.

"Are we going over to Gee-Gee's house this weekend?" his daughter perked up from her chair.

"If mommy says yes, then we will. You done with breakfast?"

The young girl nodded her head and held up the bowl to show that she was, in fact, done. Ryan swooped in to grab the bowl and tossed it in the sink, satisfied with the sound of plastic against ceramic.

"Okay, now, you have your bookbag packed, everything ready?"

"Yes, daddy," she said.

"Good, go brush your teeth, and then you gotta go."

While she was in the bathroom, he turned the TV back up to see what was happening, as a picture of a jet flashed on the screen.

"…military officials fear that there may be a bigger confrontation on the western border, though the negotiations have not yet been completed. Air raids were conducted only a few weeks ago, leveling a camp that is said to have been home, not to insurgents, but to nomads, sparking mass outroars."

"Okay daddy, I'm ready!"

"Alright, good," Ryan smiled, handing her the bag leaning against the front door and kissing her forehead as she pulled it on. "You be good."

The young girl ran out the front door, to the sidewalk and turned around, waving at her father before sprinting off towards the end of the street to the bus stop.

Ryan walked back in, grabbing his second cup of coffee off the counter and sipped it while sitting at the table, watching the tail end of the news report.

"…an online message board seems to be exploding with talk of a confrontation, and one anonymous user saw a chance to begin spamming the message boards with talk of a mercenary coming out of retirement. Mercenaries, of course, have not been used in the service since the late 1990's, after the end of the Belkan War. Many people have referred to this anonymous user as a troll, and point out that most of the facts he is using refer to the 2005 documentary focusing on a lone mercenary who disappeared after the war. It is unknown if this mercenary ever existed, prompting most people to dismiss the comments."

The front door opened slowly, and was practically slammed shut, and Ryan heard a bag being dropped near the front door. He knew those sounds as well as he knew the roar of an engine, and turned to see his wife stumbling in and collapsing on the couch.

"Hey babe," he smiled, "you okay?"

A single grunt was his reply, and he laughed as he got up, walking into the kitchen and pouring another cup of coffee for his wife, bringing it to her and kneeling by the couch so she could smell it.

The young woman turned her head and peeked out from behind her black hair, eyeing the cup hungrily and he gestured for her to take it. Without hesitation, Kei sat up and grabbed the coffee from his hands, taking a large swig.

"Easy there, you want me to put some whiskey in there for you?" Ryan smiled.

"Don't give me any ideas," Kei glared at him.

"How's your mom doing?" he asked, sitting next to her and putting his feet up on the table.

"Better than last night, I guess. I slipped some sleeping pills into her water at around 3 a.m., and it at least stopped her wailing."

"Drugging your own mother? For shame," Ryan sipped his own coffee.

Kei stared down at her cup, her face paler than usual. "She's really upset over her father's passing."

"I can imagine," he nodded. "Do they have a funeral date set, yet?"

"No, nothing's set yet. They want more family to come from the east before they do that. It's traditional."

"I get it, don't worry. I take it you'd like some sleep?"

"I doubt I could get any," she responded, shaking her head. "My heart is still racing a mile a minute, even after all this time I've had to sit with it."

"Well, how about we just watch some TV?"

"That would be nice…" Kei smiled and kissed her husband warmly.

The two snuggled on the couch, ignoring the sounds of a plane overhead.


End file.
